1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radio controlled two-wheeled vehicle toy and more particularly to a two-wheeled vehicle toy which can smoothly and reliably switch in right and left directions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has been difficult to commercialize a radio controlled two-wheeled vehicle toy since it is less stable in its movement and has a more complicated steering mechanism than a four-wheeled vehicle.
Heretofore, as a steering mechanism for a radio controlled two-wheeled vehicle, a mechanism has been provided in which a weight mounted on the top of a vehicle is moved in the right and left directions by a radio control system, and a steering section mounted on the front wheel, is rotated right and left in response to the movement of the weight as disclosed in the Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 52-24078.
It is, however, believed that this type of steering mechanism causes a vehicle to turn over when negotiating a sharp curve, since it makes the vehicle unstable and has an inferior steering characteristic because the weight is positioned at the upper portion of the vehicle. Hence, it has been necessary to install a stand at the bottom of the vehicle to prevent the vehicle from being turned over, and provide a mechanism for positively rotating right and left the steering section responsive to the actions of the weight. As a result, the existing two-wheeled vehicle toy has a complicated mechanism and a less aesthetic appearance.
The Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 57-64076 discloses a steering mechanism in which a frame is provided with a servo mechanism and a cell at the lower portion of the vehicle so that the frame is moved by a remote control, and the vehicle is inclined right and left for a steering purpose by using the weights of the servo mechanism and the cell.
This type of steering mechanism is more stable and has a superior steering characteristic than the mechanism described earlier because the weight is located at the bottom of the vehicle. This mechanism is suited for a moderate curve, but when the vehicle negotiates a sharp curve, the frame as a center of gravity should be turned right and left to a great extent. However, because of the limited space of the two-wheeled vehicle, it is difficult to design a mechanism including the frame, since a motorcycle has an insufficient width. If the width and the swing arc of the frame are made larger, it is necessary to enlarge the swing of a crank attached to the servo mechanism. In this case, the deficiency of power supplied by the servo mechanism does not permit the crank to be smoothly swung. Moreover, a drawback of this steering mechanism consists in that the direction cannot be rapidly switched because it takes much time to swing back the frame due to the large swing arc.
Furthermore, the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 55-156799 has proposed a construction wherein the steering section located at the front wheel is linked to the servo mechanism for forcing a vehicle body to be banked by directly swinging the steering section right and left by the remote control operation.
This type of steering mechanism, however, lacks stability because of the innate characteristic of the two-wheeled vehicle. That is, since the two-wheeled vehicle is of a rear wheel driven type, it has an inertia when going straight, and if the steering is served by only the front wheel, the vehicle body becomes unbalanced. Therefore, handling operation should be reduced to a minimum.
A recently filed U.S. Application, Ser. No. 222,124 by the inventor herein and assigned to the assignee of the subject application discloses providing in the radio control type two-wheeled vehicle toy, a battery housing which is rotatably mounted at the lower part of the vehicle body and is moved right and left with respect to a running direction of the vehicle by the radio control operation, so that the vehicle body is inclined for steering purposes, right and left by making use of the weight of the battery Using the weight of the battery housing substantially improves handling of the two-wheeled toy vehicle.